If you’re keenly interested in a deep dive on business in Asia then the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Business School should be in your consideration set. It’s latest entering class of MBA students hail from 22 different countries, ranging from Belgium to the U.S. Students have worked for an impressive roster of companies, including Accenture, Citibank, Dell, Ernst & Young, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle, Sony, and Walmart. And they’ve done their undergraduate work at places such as Boston University, the University of Southern California and the University of Rome.
This is a two-year MBA program, which boasts a Financial Times 2012 global MBA ranking of 28th place. Classes are taught in English, though there are some electives offered in Chinese. Owing to its early start in the MBA game (CUHK became the first school in China to offer a full-time MBA program in 1966), the school has a strong alumni network, especially in Hong Kong.
The average student here is 28, with five years of working experience, and an average GMAT score of 625, though the highest GMAT for a recent admit is 770. Women are well represented at CUHK, accounting for 41% of the latest entering class.
CUHK offers a pretty mainstream MBA format, with the core curriculum concentrated in the first year of study and electives in the second. Students can major in one of four areas: Business in China, Entrepreneurship, Finance or Marketing. Each calendar year is divided into three regular terms and a summer term. To graduate, full-time candidates are required to complete 54 units.
It takes 16 months of full-time study to complete the program, though the school allows students to opt out of a summer internship or an exchange program and get the MBA degree in just 12 months. CUHK also offers an interesting array of dual-degree programs that allow you to get two MBAs, one from CUHK and another from one of three prominent schools, HEC Paris, Rotterdam, or the University of Texas at Austin.
Princeton Review’s surveys of the MBA students at the school says it is known for its friendly students, good social scene, good peer network and smart classrooms.
Rankings Analysis: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Business School came in at a rank of 35 on the 2012 Poets&Quants’ list of the best 50 non-U.S. MBA programs in the world. It did so on the strength of recognition from The Financial Times and The Economist. In 2012, the FT rated the school’s MBA program 28th best in the world and 15th best outside the U.S. The Economist this year ranked CUHK 94th in the world and 49th best among non-U.S. schools.
